Life

Mirrie Irrna Solomon was born in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, and showed an early talent for music and pitch. She studied piano with an aunt, and at age 13 with Josef Kretschmann and later with Laurence Godfrey-Smith. She studied composition with Ernest Truman and composer Alfred Hill

Alfred Hill

Alfred Francis Hill CMG OBE was an Australian/New Zealand composer, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Alfred Hill was born in Melbourne in 1869. His year of birth is shown in many sources as 1870, but this has now been disproven. He spent most of his early life in New Zealand...

 (1870–1960), and won a scholarship to study composition at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music

Sydney Conservatorium of Music

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...

.

After completing her studies, she took a position teaching harmony and aural culture at the Conservatorium. She married Alfred Hill in 1921. After his death in 1960, she established the annual Alfred Hill Award for a composition student at the Conservatorium. She died in Sydney.

Works

Hill composed for orchestra, chamber ensemble, choral pieces, film scores, songs and solo instrumental works. She often incorporated Aboriginal themes and traditional Jewish melodies. Selected works include:

• Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra
• The Leafy Lanes of Kent (1950)
• Three miniature pieces for the piano
• Three Aboriginal Dances (Brolga, The Kunkarankara Women, Nalda of the Echo) (1950)
• Arnhemland symphony

Her works have been recorded and issued on CD, including:

• Dance of the Wild Men - Early 20th Century Australian Piano Music Artworks